The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has collaborated with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to establish a SME Digital Academy.
SME Digital Academy is a public-private partnership initiative being driven by the NCC, SMEDAN, and Sapphital Learning Limited, a leading digital learning platform, essentially to provide micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) owners with digital skills to enhance their entrepreneurial skills.
Through the partnership, entrepreneurs and start-ups would be equipped with the necessary digital skills required to navigate the increasingly digitised world.
The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who was represented at the launch by the NCC’s Director, Digital Economy, said the setting up of the scheme was based on the realization that in today’s global economy, a borderless educational and economic system will be the next stage of the digital economy.
According to the EVC, while the collaboration between the NCC and SMEDAN was a step towards economic diversification, digital technologies were key in the implementation of this initiative.
He noted that the NCC had continued to work towards providing information and communications technology (ICT) support to various sectors in the country. He noted that with over 41 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, proper empowerment of entrepreneurs would create an extremely powerful impact on the nation’s economic growth.
Danbatta said SMEs’ empowerment would also help in providing employment, lessening societal vices, developing the economy, increasing foreign exchange as well as improving the general well-being of Nigerians.
“Knowledge is pivotal to the growth of entrepreneurship, as it provides the businessman or woman, the know-how on raising capital, strategic partnership, and proper organisational, administrative, sales and marketing skills required to run an effective business. Knowledge is, therefore, the food of every economy, especially, the digital economy, as it fuels its growth and stimulated the digital ecosystem,” he said.
